WORLD VISION ZAMBIA EMBARKS ON A CHILD HEALTH TARGET IMPACT STUDY

By MacPherson Mukuka

World vision Zambia in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University and the has embarked on a five year Child heath targets impact study designed to measure the impact of world vision’s maternal, neonatal and child health and nutrition programmes on the health of mothers, babies and children.

Speaking during the baseline dissemination meeting for the study held in Lusaka on 29^th September, 2014, World Vision Zambia, Maternal, neonatal and child health Regional Coordinator Martha Mwendafilumba says the study’s long time benefit will be that it will help mothers to develop lifesaving abilities especially during their pregnancy stage adding that world vision would want to see a community which is well vest with health.

Mrs. Mwendafilumba has however bemoaned the high number of illiteracy levels among the rural populace as well as the shortage of community health workers.

She said much as the Organisation has invested in production of health materials as way of communicating to the rural community, a number of them cannot read and therefore understanding the information remains a problem.

The Coordinator further stated that it is therefore inevitable and imperative to engage community volunteers who will try to mobilize the mothers in the respective community and share information.

Meanwhile, World Vision Zambia Associate Director for grants Acquisition and Technical Support Rose Zambezi says some of the interventions that the study will provide will include training of volunteers on the importance of the early access to antenatal care which they will later transfer to expectant mother.

Mrs. Zambezi says most mothers delay going to seek for antenatal services quite late due to lack of information.

She said the engaging community volunteers will definitely be of help because the volunteers are closer to the mothers.

Mrs. Zambezi further stated that engaging the community volunteers is one way of complimenting government’s efforts in delivering quality health services to the rural community.

The study covers four countries which include Cambodia, Guatemala, Kenya and Zambia.

*Outcome of the meetings between Zambia and Zimbabwe to discuss the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam Successful- ZRA*

By MacPherson Mukuka

Zambezi River Authority Chief Executive, Munyaradzi Munodawafa says the outcome of the meetings between Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Cooperating Partners to discuss the rehabilitation of the Kariba has been successful.

Mr. Munodawafa says a number of issues relating to implementation were discussed which paves the way to ensure the rehabilitation works are adequately funded.

He said this in a statement at the end of a series of meetings between the Cooperating Partners and officials from the two Governments over the past three weeks.

Also welcoming the conclusions of the evaluation meetings by the Cooperating Partners, EU Head of Delegation to Zambia, Gilles Hervio confirmed that he was pleased with the progress that has been made so far in the preparatory work to ensure that the rehabilitation works are done in a timely manner to avert a power deficit in future.

Meanwhile African Development Bank Country Representative Freddie Kwesiga stated says he is impressed with the great team work and sense of urgency by the technical teams of the financing institutions and ZRA.

He said that the team has shown that working together among Cooperating Partners can achieve greater development results.

He added that the rehabilitation is important in that it will also secure an already constrained generation capacity in the southern African region.

And World Bank Group Country Director, Kundhavi Kadiresan, said the Organisation is pleased that the intensive work that the technical teams have been doing in the last few years has finally come together with this program of rehabilitation for the Kariba dam.

She said Reliable power generation is needed to meet the ever increasing demands of the region.

Ms. Kadiresan added that the work between Zambia and Zimbabwe on the Kariba rehabilitation has paved the way for further collaboration on harnessing energy sources between the two countries so that transformational changes can be made in the lives of the people in the sub-region.

And Swedish Sweden’s Ambassador to Zambia, Lena Nordstrom, says the consequences of a dam failure would be a serious setback for efforts to reduce poverty and to the impressive economic development of Zambia in recent years, adding that making swift rehabilitation of the dam is the only available course of action.

The Kariba Dam and Hydro-Electric Scheme (HES) was constructed across the Zambezi River between 1956 and 1959 and has been central to energy security and supporting economic development in both Zambia and Zimbabwe.

After 50 years of operation serving the Southern African Region, the Kariba Dam now requires rehabilitation works for its continued safe operation. A failure to invest in the timely rehabilitation of the dam will result in the gradual degradation of key dam safety features to a level below international standards. Therefore, this rehabilitation project, which represents the culmination of a series of in-depth technical studies over the past few years, is absolutely crucial, and will restore the full safety of the dam.